crypto

Sage D. Young2/9/26

Meme coins have lost all their 2026 gains and continue to dive

Despite having an early lead in year-to-date gains, meme coins have round-tripped and bled even more.

For example, frog-based token Pepe was up 75% in the first four days of January, but is now about 8% lower than where it started the year. Dogecoin, shiba inu, Bonk, pengu, dogwifhat, and trump tell a similar story: posting a positive gain and then slumping into the red.

Screenshot 2026-02-09 at 11.32.10 AM.png — The year-to-date price performances of the top meme coins by market capitalization (TradingView)

Meme coins, cryptocurrencies based on internet jokes that are often critiqued for lacking utility, are reflexive: they can lead gains during bullish market conditions, but see sharper declines in bearish ones. The entire category of meme coins has shed 25.8% of its valuation in the year so far, data from blockchain analytics firm Artemis shows.

The price action of meme coins comes amid a broader market decline that saw bitcoin drop to $63,000 last week as its peers revisited cycle lows.

“The market has, in large, been bleeding, whether major, altcoin, or meme,” according to Nicolai Søndergaard, research analyst at on-chain data firm Nansen. “It is not surprising to me to see that larger memes as well have been trending down.”

He told Sherwood News, “If we also consider the fact that there are less active wallets now compared to a few months ago, it also makes sense that larger ‘household’ memes would decline as money shifts around to the next shiny thing.”

More Crypto

crypto

Sage D. Young6h

For the first time, Fannie Mae will allow mortgages to be backed by crypto

Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage finance giant, will start accepting mortgages backed by cryptocurrencies — namely bitcoin and Circle’s stablecoin, USDC.

Mortgage firm Better Home & Finance and US-based crypto exchange Coinbase Global are rolling out a new product that enables prospective homebuyers to pledge their digital assets as down payment collateral when obtaining a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae, The Wall Street Journal reported.

This means homebuyers can secure a standard conforming mortgage without liquidating tokenized assets, which potentially triggers a taxable event.

“If BTC drops in value, the mortgage terms remain unchanged, and no additional collateral is required. Market movements alone never trigger liquidation,” per a joint press release from Better and Coinbase.

“Token-backed mortgages originated by Better are designed in accordance with Fannie Mae guidelines and remain as standard conforming mortgage loans, identical to other conforming mortgages,” the announcement continued.

Max Branzburg, head of consumer and business products at Coinbase, said, “Token-backed mortgages are a major first step to unlocking homeownership for the younger generations that have struggled with barriers to saving for a traditional downpayment.”

The announcement comes more than nine months after William Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Agency, ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare a proposal that considers cryptocurrency as a reserve asset in single-family mortgage loan risk assessment.

Fannie Mae to Accept Crypto-Backed Mortgages for the First Time

Fannie Mae to Accept Crypto-Backed Mortgages for the First Time

This means homebuyers can secure a standard conforming mortgage without liquidating tokenized assets, which potentially triggers a taxable event.

“If BTC drops in value, the mortgage terms remain unchanged, and no additional collateral is required. Market movements alone never trigger liquidation,” per a joint press release from Better and Coinbase.

“Token-backed mortgages originated by Better are designed in accordance with Fannie Mae guidelines and remain as standard conforming mortgage loans, identical to other conforming mortgages,” the announcement continued.

Max Branzburg, head of consumer and business products at Coinbase, said, “Token-backed mortgages are a major first step to unlocking homeownership for the younger generations that have struggled with barriers to saving for a traditional downpayment.”

The announcement comes more than nine months after William Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Agency, ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare a proposal that considers cryptocurrency as a reserve asset in single-family mortgage loan risk assessment.

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy

$14 billion of bitcoin options expire tomorrow, but geopolitical tensions remain key driver of volatility

The expiries create a gravitational pull in the days leading up to them as market makers hedging their books push bitcoin’s price toward “max pain.”

Bitcoin ATM In Madrid

crypto

Sage D. Young3/25/26

GameStop transfers all but 1 bitcoin to Coinbase as collateral

It’s been one year since GameStop added bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, but the company has since halted its accumulation strategy, joining a fray of companies pivoting away from HODLing the cryptocurrency.

The gaming and collectibles retailer was at one point the 21st-largest bitcoin treasury company, but has since dropped to 190th after pledging all but one of its 4,710 bitcoin as collateral for its covered-call strategy with Coinbase Credit, data from Bitcoin Treasuries shows. Earlier this year, GameStop moved 51% of its bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, triggering speculation that it would offload the asset.

Coinbase Credit has the “right to rehypothecate, commingle, or unilaterally sell the Pledged Bitcoin,” per GameStop’s 10K filing with the SEC on Tuesday. “As a result of these rights, we concluded that control of the Pledged Bitcoin transferred to the counterparty. Accordingly, we derecognized the Pledged Bitcoin as an intangible asset.” That said, GameStop also “recognized digital assets receivable of $368.3 million... representing our contractual right to receive equivalent amount of Bitcoin in the future.”

GameStop sold covered‑call option contracts, which have strike prices ranging from $105,000 to $110,000 and maturities extending through March 2026, to mitigate its exposure to bitcoin’s price volatility and generate incremental yield.

The move comes as a number of other bitcoin firms have reached a tipping point and sold part of their stockpile.

Empery Digital, the 23rd-largest bitcoin treasury firm, announced in a March press release that it sold $4.2 million worth of BTC to fund share repurchases. DL News also reported that a shareholder who owns 9.8% of Empery Digital demanded the company sell its entire bitcoin stockpile and the immediate resignation of its CEO and entire board of directors.
GD Culture Group approved the sale of an unspecified amount of its 7,500-bitcoin reserve to fund its share repurchase program, according to a press release last month.
Elsewhere, Cango sold 4,451 BTC to reduce its overall finance leverage and strengthen its balance sheet, while Riot Platforms sold around $200 million worth of bitcoin in November and December.

Despite GameStop’s pledge to Coinbase Credit, the company has technically left the door open to resume its bitcoin strategy: the gaming firm said it intends to use net proceeds from its convertible 2030 notes for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin.

Shares of GameStop are up 2.7% today after posting lackluster Q4 results yesterday.

The move comes as a number of other bitcoin firms have reached a tipping point and sold part of their stockpile.

Empery Digital, the 23rd-largest bitcoin treasury firm, announced in a March press release that it sold $4.2 million worth of BTC to fund share repurchases. DL News also reported that a shareholder who owns 9.8% of Empery Digital demanded the company sell its entire bitcoin stockpile and the immediate resignation of its CEO and entire board of directors.
GD Culture Group approved the sale of an unspecified amount of its 7,500-bitcoin reserve to fund its share repurchase program, according to a press release last month.
Elsewhere, Cango sold 4,451 BTC to reduce its overall finance leverage and strengthen its balance sheet, while Riot Platforms sold around $200 million worth of bitcoin in November and December.

Despite GameStop’s pledge to Coinbase Credit, the company has technically left the door open to resume its bitcoin strategy: the gaming firm said it intends to use net proceeds from its convertible 2030 notes for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin.

Shares of GameStop are up 2.7% today after posting lackluster Q4 results yesterday.

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy

Bernstein maintains bitcoin will hit $150,000 by year-end, but many experts think that’s “a stretch”

Bitcoin hasn’t crossed the $100,000 mark since November 2025.

Price Of Bitcoin Reaches New High, As Inflation Rises At Level Not Seen In 30 Years

crypto

Sage D. Young3/24/26

Circle plunges on report of proposal prohibiting platforms from offering yield payments

Circle, the firm behind the second-largest stablecoin, USDC, sank over 18.5% after journalist Eleanor Terrett posted on X that lawmakers are considering a proposal that would prohibit platforms such as exchanges and brokers from offering yield payments for holding stablecoins. Shares of US-based crypto exchange Coinbase, which has benefited from its ties to Circle and holds a minority interest in the stablecoin issuer, also fell on the report.

Stablecoin competitor Tether also announced signing a “Big Four” accounting firm to complete a full independent financial statement audit today, aimed at providing assurance that USDT is fully backed and highly liquid, the company’s press release said. The firm has never before allowed an independent audit, which has long plagued the company as investors questioned whether USDT is actually backed by its reserves.

The amount of Circle’s USDC in circulation sits at $81 billion, less than half the figure of the industry leader, Tether, whose USDT stablecoin sits at $184.2 billion, data from blockchain analytics firm Artemis shows.

Stablecoin competitor Tether also announced signing a “Big Four” accounting firm to complete a full independent financial statement audit today, aimed at providing assurance that USDT is fully backed and highly liquid, the company’s press release said. The firm has never before allowed an independent audit, which has long plagued the company as investors questioned whether USDT is actually backed by its reserves.

The amount of Circle’s USDC in circulation sits at $81 billion, less than half the figure of the industry leader, Tether, whose USDT stablecoin sits at $184.2 billion, data from blockchain analytics firm Artemis shows.

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